No Country for Old Men (DVD, 2008)

I have been a fan of the Coen brothers since Blood Simple and have liked everything they've done. Some of their movies are, to my mind, among the best ever done (Miller's Crossing, O Brother Where Art Thou, e.g.) This film is troubling but I would have to place it very high. It portrays a world in which evil can win (if you like happy endings, you ain't gonna find one here--unless you're morally twisted)but in many respects I can see this playing out in the world we live in, given all that's going on, politically, business-wise etc. The performances are strong--Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Kelly MacDonald, and, of course, Tommy Lee Jones, who never seems to miss. People criticize it because of the violence but mostly these are people, I have noticed, who haven't seen it. Besides, the violence drives home the point and I thought that aspect of it was handled very well. This a troubling film but well worth seeing. I watched it three times in a week and was drawn in every time.